KURDISH WOMAN ACTIVIST SENTENCED TO DEATH

Humanitarian worker and civil society activist, Pakhshan Azizi, from Iran’s oppressed Kurdish ethnic minority, is at risk of execution following a grossly unfair trial by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran. In July 2024, she was sentenced to death solely in relation to her peaceful humanitarian and human rights activities, including assisting displaced women and children in north-east Syria. Her allegations of torture and other ill-treatment were never investigated.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: January 31, 2025

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• Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
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sample letter:

Dear Mr. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei,

Humanitarian aid worker and civil society activist, Pakhshan Azizi, 40, from Iran’s oppressed Kurdish ethnic minority, is at risk of execution after Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced her to death in July 2024. She was convicted of “armed rebellion against the state” (baghi) solely in relation to her peaceful human rights and humanitarian activities.

On August 4, 2023, Ministry of Intelligence agents arbitrarily arrested Pakhshan Azizi from her family home in Tehran and subjected to her an enforced disappearance, a crime under international law, by refusing to disclose her whereabouts to her family. Agents had transferred her to section 209 of Tehran’s Evin prison, which is under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence and held her in prolonged solitary confinement for five months without access to a lawyer and her family. According to informed sources, during this time Pakhshan Azizi was subjected to torture and other ill-treatment during interrogations. Agents repeatedly told her that she had no right to live and threatened to execute her. They also subjected her to gender-based violence to compel her to make forced “confessions” of having ties to Kurdish opposition groups, which she repeatedly denied.

I urge you to halt any plans to execute Pakhshan Azizi, quash her conviction and death sentence, and release her immediately and unconditionally, as she is held solely for her peaceful humanitarian work and human rights activism. Pending her release, provide her with adequate healthcare and regular visits from family and lawyers; protect her from further torture and other ill-treatment; and order an independent, effective, and impartial investigation into her torture allegations, bringing anyone suspected of criminal responsibility to justice in fair trials. Also, immediately establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty. 

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

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